Falling Again
by Singer of Water
Summary: Since reuniting with Steve after seventy years, joining the Avengers, and meeting Tracey, Bucky's life has finally gotten back on the right track. He's finally getting rid of the Winter Soldier and becoming James Buchanan Barnes again. But a new threat might change all that. Sequel to Winter is Ending. Bucky x OC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Tracey peered around the corner she was hiding behind. The hall she was looking down was empty, but that didn't settle her nerves. It was quiet to the point where she could hear her heartbeat in her ears. She clutched the gun in her hands against her chest, trying to calm herself. They could be anywhere and could jump her at any minute. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway. Taking only two steps, she froze when she heard a voice.

"Now!"

In a split second arrows and bullets rained down on her. She shrieked as she covered her head with her arms. She raised her head once the fire stopped and glared as she heard laughter. She crossed her arms with a pout as she saw Barry walking out from a doorway at the end of the hall. He grinned as he waved his Nerf gun in the air.

"Nice try, Trace," he said, laughing.

The blonde woman rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." She bent down and picked up a foam arrow. She crossed her arms, arrow raised as she rested her elbow on her other arm. She lifted a brow at her twin. "Where's Clint?" She raised her head when she heard snickering echoing above her. She spotted an air vent with its grate removed to her right. "Really? The air vent?" She looked to the left when she heard another voice laughing. Tracey found Bucky bracing himself in the corner of the ceiling, yellow Nerf gun in one hand as he held onto the walls. "Oh come on!" she shouted. "That should be cheating."

Bucky jumped down, landing with barely a thud in front of her. "Sorry, doll, but got to use some things to my advantage."

Tracey scoffed. "Not all of us are trained assassins."

The brunet man grinned and wrapped his arms around the woman's waist. "Oh come on, don't be such a sore loser. You got Steve out. Don't forget that."

"Yeah, but that's also because he's not that great with a gun," Barry commented.

"Don't let him hear you say that," Bucky laughed. He looked down at Tracey, laughing when he saw her glaring up at him. He shook his head and leaned his head down; he kissed her lips.

Clint groaned as he jumped out of the vent. "Get a room you two," he said, making Barry laugh.

The ex S.H.I.E.L.D. agent stopped his laughter when he felt something hit the back of his head. Holding the spot on his head, he turned around to see Sharon with a Nerf gun of her own raised in front of her. Steve stood to the side of her, both grinning at the group.

"You're out," the CIA agent said smugly, a smirk on her face.

"And so are you two," came a new voice.

The group turned around to see Natasha holding two Nerf guns. Next thing they knew, two foam bullets shot out and nailed Bucky and Clint on the forehead.

"Headshot!" Tracey cheered, grinning at the two male assassins. "Girls win!"

The three men groaned, throwing their heads back as they did. They shifted their eyes to the two woman who got them out as they walked over to stand next to Tracey.

"Best of luck next time," Sharon said, her smirk still there.

Barry opened his mouth to say something, but whipped his head around after he felt another bullet hit the back of his head. He glared at Steve who grinned back.

"That was for the comment about me using guns," he said, grinning cheekily.

"Traitor…" the male twin grumbled.

"You three shouldn't have let your guard down," Natasha smirked, glancing over at her bow friend who was secretly loading an arrow to shoot her with. He pouted as he lowered the bow.

"She's got a point," Steve said laughing as Bucky glared at him.

"And you couldn't have warned us?"

"I was out," the blond soldier grinned.

"Punk."

"Jerk."

Tracey rolled her eyes and shot an arrow at Steve and Bucky. "Army Bros, stop your old man squabbling and let's go. I'm heading upstairs to eat."

"Yeah, I'm hungry too," Barry said, stretching his arms over his head. He shot a bullet at Steve before bursting out into a run.

"Hey!" Steve shouted, chasing him down shooting bullets at the twin.

Clint laughed as they ran down the hall, placing an arm around Natasha's waist, kissing her cheek as they followed the two men. Sharon rolled her eyes, chuckling as she followed her boyfriend down the hall. Bucky looked down at Tracey and grinned, wrapping his arms around her.

"They're finally gone," he said, leaning his head towards hers.

Tracey rolled her eyes, pushing against his chest. "Come on, Sergeant," she laughed. "I'm hungry."

Bucky chuckled and quickly kissed her. "Alright, darling, alright," he said, kissing her nose before placing his arm around her waist, leading her down the hall.

ooOOoo

"Barry, give me my laptop!" Tracey yelled as her brother laughed as he held the computer over his head. Tracey jumped up and down trying to reach her laptop.

"You need to take a break, Trace," Barry said, laughing as he held it higher. "You work on this thing way too much."

"He's got a point, Tracey," Steve said, laughing as he watched Tracey chase her brother around the kitchen island.

Bucky grabbed the laptop from Barry, chuckling when Tracey smiled brightly at him. He held the device in the air when she walked over to him. "Sorry, doll. Barry and Steve are right. You need to stop working so much and relax."

"Are you still not taking a break, Tracey?" Bruce asked as he walked off the elevator, a holo-tablet in hand.

"Yes," Barry answered. "Ow," he shouted, glaring at Tracey as he rubbed his arm.

"Where's Tony?" Sharon asked, sipping her glass of water.

"He's been holed up in the lab. He's been acting weird lately," Bruce answered. "He's been working on something nonstop and won't tell me what it is."

"It's Stark," Clint said, raising a brow and waving a hand in a 'what do you expect?' manner. "He always locks himself away and works on whatever he's working on for hours on end."

"Yeah, but this time, he's keeping it from me," Bruce said, biting his lip as he glanced at the door to the stairs. "He's being really secretive about it. Usually he asks if I want a part of whatever he's doing."

"That's odd…" Natasha said, taking a bite from her sandwich. "Anyways, I meant to ask you, Sharon and Steve, how was the last mission?"

"It went well," Steve answered. "We were able to get some information from Hydra and destroy another base. I'm not sure if we're getting closer to getting rid of them finally…" he said, chewing his cheek.

"Anything else?" Nat asked, smirking at him.

Steve raised an eyebrow. "What do you me- Seriously Nat!" he yelled.

Sharon laughed and kissed his cheek, which was turning bright red. "Calm down, Captain."

Steve rolled his eyes, trying to get his face to stop burning as he glared at Natasha (and Bucky, who was cackling at his best friend). "And what about you and Clint?" he shot.

"No comment," the red head said, smirking.

Clint chuckled, smirking over at his girlfriend. "Anyone want to change the topic?"

"Why?" Barry asked, laughing. "Feeling uncomfortable?"

"Never," the archer said chuckling. "It just looks like Tracey looks uncomfortable," he said, nodding to the female twin.

Tracey rolled her eyes. "I'm not. I don't care what you guys talk about, just don't make it too personal," she said.

"That would be really appreciated," Bruce said, laughing.

Bucky chuckled as Tracey jumped again trying to grab her laptop. "Not gonna happen, doll. You need to get sleep. You were falling asleep earlier today." He kissed her cheek when she huffed.

"What about you two?" Natasha asked, a cheeky grin on her face. It grew when she saw Tracey glare at her.

"No comment," Bucky mimicked, winking at the red haired assassin.

Tracey punched his flesh arm. "Bucky!" She turned to the laughing group of friends. "Nothing is happening with us."

"Yet," Bucky grinned.

Tracey narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend who only grinned wider at her. "Bucky, you're annoying."

"You chose to date me," he laughed.

"What are we talking about?" Tony asked, walking off the elevator. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were covered in what looked like oil stains. His hands were basically black as he wiped them on a rag.

"What have you been doing down there, Stark? You look like you were bathing in oil," Clint said, scrunching his face up and raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing for you to worry about," Tony said quickly. "Just a small experiment I'm working on."

"What sort of experiment are you working on that you're not working on it with Bruce?" Steve asked.

Tony opened his mouth, but JARVIS's voice interrupted, echoing through the floor.

"Sir, there is a break in at Citibank down on Third Avenue and Fifty-second Street," the AI informed.

"We better help out then," Tony said. "Spider Queen, Queen Elsa, you up for a quick work out?"

"Why not," Bucky said. "It's we haven't had an easy mission in a while."

"How many men do you think it is this time?" Nat questioned, following Bucky and Tony to the elevator.

"My guess is it's probably three," Bucky answered.

"I'd say five at most," Tony said.

"I think it's one," Natasha said. "Want to make it interesting?"

"What did you have in mind, Spider Queen?" Tony asked.

"Losers do all the winner's chores for a month?" Natasha stated, smirking at the two men.

"You're on," Bucky replied, smirking back.

"Let's go," Tony said, hitting the button to the bottom floor.

ooOOoo

People were running around, screaming and avoiding the bank entrance as the three heroes got to the scene. Inspecting the building, they saw a large hole next in the door. It was about the size of an average person, just a little bigger. Police cars were circled around the steps as the cops stood outside their cars, guns pointed at the entrance.

"What's going on here?" Tony asked, flying down to one of the cops as Natasha landed the jet.

"Some freak apparently busted through the wall and is breaking into the back vaults," the sheriff answered, waving a hand at the hole in the building.

"Just one guy did this?" Tony said, looking over at the bank.

"I win," Natasha said, smirking once she and Bucky reached Iron Man and the cop.

"Damn…" Tony cursed under his breath. He turned his attention back to the sheriff. "We're going to need you to get these people out of the way. We'll handle this." He turned to Bucky and Natasha. "Buckaroo, you head up to the entrance and survey the inside of the building. Red, I'm going to need you to find a way into the back of the bank so we can get the guy surrounded. I'll go in through the roof."

"Trying to make a grand entrance?" Bucky asked, chuckling at the iron clad hero.

"You know it," Tony said, taking off into the air.

Bucky ran up to the hole in the wall, pulling one of his hand guns out of their holsters as he peeked through the entrance. Scanning the area he found the bank tellers hiding under their desks, but there was no one who appeared to be holding them hostage. "Stark, Natasha," he said, turning on his ear piece. "The guy's already in the back. The hostages seem to be unharmed."

"Good, get them out of there then head to the back to help Red out," Tony answered.

Bucky switched the safety on his gun and slowly made his way into the building. He caught the eye of one of the bankers and motioned for them to make their way out of the building. As soon as the last person was out he made his way to the back. Peering into the vault he caught sight of a red haired man stuffing money into a bag.

_How original. _Bucky thought.

He spotted Natasha in the corner of his eye coming up next to him. He nodded to her and they quickly entered the vault, guns pointing at the man.

"I think you need to make an account before making a withdrawal," Natasha said.

The man turned around and glared at the two assassins. In a split second he charged them, knocking them out of the way. Natasha flew into one of the walls while Bucky pushed against the man, trying to push him back. He succeeded in pushing the man off him, but the man quickly swung a fist at him and a fist at him. Bucky dodged and swung his own fist at the man. It was blocked followed by a kick. Bucky jumped back and swung his metal arm at the man as he charged him again. Natasha came from behind and jumped on the man's back only to be flung right off. She landed on her feet next to Bucky. She looked at him and he nodded at her. The two charged the man, attacking from both sides. Bucky swung his fist at the man, landing a hit on his jaw as Natasha swung her foot at the man's legs. The man fell to the floor, but quickly flipped back up.

"What's up with this guy?" Natasha said as she dodged a punch. "He's almost as strong as you."

"I've noticed that too…" Bucky said, eyeing the man as he jumped away from his next kick.

"Bring him outside," Tony sounded in their communicators. "We can't afford to destroy the building."

"Trying to keep some money in your own bank, Stark?" Bucky questioned.

"That and I think the workers would appreciate another day of getting paid themselves," Tony stated. "So bring him to me."

"On it," Natasha said, running at the man.

She threw one of her disks, landing it on his shoulder. Within a second it shocked him, sending him into a minor seizure. It didn't last long, but it gave Bucky enough time to grab him and throw him out of the vault. From there, he kicked the red haired man out of the building straight through the hole he created prior to the heroes arriving. Outside, Tony swooped down and blasted the man with a few shots from his repulsor gauntlets. The man was sent flying and crashed into the steps, putting a crater into it.

"What happened to not destroying the building?" Bucky shouted at Tony as he charged at the man when he saw him begin to get up. He punched the man, sending him back down to the ground.

"I didn't realize he'd dent the building!" Tony defended. "Have you been eating your spinach, Pop-eye?" he asked the man as he hovered in front of him.

Natasha quickly ran up and grabbed his neck as he was about to jump at Iron Man. She slammed her fists into his neck, activating her bracelets. The man shook from the shock and eventually fell to his knees. Nat jumped off as he fell and stood next to Bucky and Tony as they stared at the man lying on the steps. The cops quickly surrounded the man and hauled him to his feet. Cuffs were around his wrists in the matter of seconds.

Bucky blinked as he stared at the man. What did he just see? He leaned over to Natasha. "Did you just see something fly off his body?"

"Glad I'm not the only one who saw that," she said, crossing her arms. Her eyebrows perked up a bit when she saw the man shaking his head.

The red head man blinked and looked every which way, his eyes growing wide in fear. "Where am I?" he asked. He looked down at his cuffed hands and at the cops, his eyes growing wider. "What's going on? What's happening?"

The three heroes looked at each other in confusion as the cops pushed the man into one of the many police vehicles.

"What just happened?" Tony asked. "There's no way that guy forgot everything that just happened."

"Maybe you hit him too hard," Bucky smirked. It vanished as quickly as it appeared. "But you've got a point. It's weird…"

"Think it has something to do with whatever flew off him?" Natasha asked, putting weight on one of her legs, jutting out her hip.

"Something flew off him?" Tony questioned, his helmet plate lifting up.

"You didn't see it?" Bucky asked. "It was black and looked like it flew off his neck or something."

"Probably your guys' imagination," Tony said, waving a hand. "You Russians and your vodka."

Bucky rolled his eyes and punched the iron man on the arm. "Let's just go. Maybe we can get some information on the guy."

"Sounds good to me," Natasha said, leading the two to the jet. "But my question is, why did it seem like he was some sort of super soldier like you?" she asked, turning to Bucky.

"That's another thing I want to know…" Bucky said, brow furrowing as he crossed his arms. He turned back to the police car where the man was being driven away. He stared at it, his mind whirring with questions as he loaded onto the jet.

**Hey everyone! So I finally got chapter one done! I've been working on this chapter for at least half a month or so. After writing Winter is Ending I started watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I got back into the Marvel mood and wanted to write a sequel. I've been plotting ideas since I finished Winter is Ending and I'm excited to start this story. I'm just hoping I'll be able to actually get it written and finished. But like I said I have a lot of ideas after plotting for so long and I really want to get this done. So fingers crossed that it will all work out!**

**I've also been stressing out lately. Especially today. Econ is kicking my butt right now and I'm currently worried about my grade. So if you don't hear from me often after today or this week(end) I'm sorry, but I really need to focus on my grades. My fall break is this weekend and I plan on studying Econ with my dad (since he somehow understands EVERYTHING about it) and I'll try and get things written and posted over the weekend. If I somehow am able to post chapters during the week it's a miracle and I somehow found free time from studying…or I'm a lazy ass who needs to focus more. We've all been down that road, I know everyone has. So if I don't get to everyone's prompts for Life at the Tower soon I'm really really really sorry! I will do my best to get them done. Again, fingers crossed everything works out. **

**If you'd like to ask the Avengers, Madison twins, Sharon, and Pepper any questions feel free to leave an ask on my tumblr. Also if you'd like to submit a prompt for Life at the Tower you can leave them in a message on tumblr, a pm here, or leave them in a review. I'd love to hear from you!**

**My tumblr is winter-is-ending**

**Thank you for reading and I hope you guys like this. I'd love to hear any comments, questions, or critiques for the story, so feel free to leave a review! Thank you again!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"And he had no idea what happened?" Sam questioned.

The entire team was in a room where their mission debriefings were held. Tony, Bucky, and Natasha had just returned ten minutes ago from the bank robber and had called for a team meeting. In the past few minutes they had filled everyone in on what they had witnessed. Right away questions were flying and minds were turning with possible answers to what happened.

"None at all," Bucky replied. "I'm not entirely sure what happened."

"What was a little odd was that he was basically as strong as Bucky. Like he was a super soldier," Natasha added.

"A new super soldier?" Steve questioned, sitting up at the edge of his chair. His face scrunched up as he thought over the information.

"Yeah well Clyde isn't a super soldier anymore," Tony spoke up. "Once we knocked him down and the cops got a hold of him, he didn't even try putting up a fight."

"That was when he lost his memory?" Bruce asked, looking between the three who went on the mission.

"Yeah," Nat nodded.

"Well, I got some good news for you guys," Tracey said as she walked into the room, laptop in her hands. "I got a name for our John Doe." She took a seat between Bucky and Sharon and turned the laptop so the screen was facing the group. "I took a picture of him from the news today and put it through a facial recognition program and found a match." She clicked on an image and the red haired man's face popped up on the screen.

"Grayson O'Neil?" Clint read off. "What's on him?"

"There's nothing much. He lives in Queens and works at a construction firm."

"That's it?" Sharon asked, leaning over to peer at the computer.

"Yeah, but here's the thing," Tracey continued, turning her computer back around to face her. She clicked on a few keys before speaking again. "He's on a missing person report. He's been missing for over a month."

"You're kidding," Sam exclaimed, walking over to read for himself.

"Missing or not, I'd like to know why he was able to keep up with Bucky during the fight," Steve said. "How was he as strong as him?"

"I'm not sure about that either," Tracey said. "Especially since he looked like this before he went missing." She showed the team a picture she pulled up onto the screen of a smaller, less bulky version of Grayson O'Neil. Next to him was a picture of him from the bank robbery.

"That's a huge difference," Tony commented. "He looks like Grandpa before the super soldier serum. But a little bigger."

Steve rolled his eyes and turned back to the computer. "That is strange…"

"Do you think it has something to do with what we saw after he was taken away?" Bucky asked Nat.

"It could," the red haired woman replied.

"What did you guys see?" Clint asked, leaning his cheek against his hand.

"When the man was arrested, Natasha and I both saw something jump, fly, I'm not sure, off of him," Bucky answered. "I didn't really see what it was but I know it came off of him."

"Do you think it has something to do with his memory loss?" Thor inquired.

"You're guess is as good as ours, Hammer Time," Tony said, shaking his head. "But it's probably our best bet."

"That just leaves the next question," Tracey said.

"What happened to him while he was missing?" Sam continued.

ooOOoo

"Sir," a man in a dark uniform said, rushing into the room. He stopped in the middle of the room before a table where a dark haired man sat, fiddling with trinkets on the table.

The second man glanced up, not lifting his head. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the man. Lowering the objects in his hands onto the table he sat up straight, never breaking his eye contact with the first man.

"I'm in the middle of something. This better be important," he spoke calmly.

"Sir, test subject two has been released," the first man informed. "He's being held in jail at this very moment."

The second man sighed and gestured to the object on the table. He grabbed it as he stood up, making his way to the man, and held it up in his face. "You think I don't know that?" he yelled. "This returned before you could even learn the whereabouts of the test subject! This is more reliable than you! I expect you to be able to reliable and quicker when it comes to information such as this."

"I'm sorry, sir," the uniformed man said.

The dark haired man sighed once more, placing the object back onto the table. He rubbed at his temples. "Here's a task that you can hopefully handle. Find me another test subject. The last two were failures clearly. I need to test these new enhancements if I'm going to get this right."

"Right away, sir," the man said, rushing out the door.

The second man sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He stared down at the object in front of him and picked it up. Staring at it and turning every which way he sighed. "This needs to work," he said, placing the item onto the table. He picked up a tool and began taking it apart. Poking and pulling at wires and metal on the object. He ran a hand through his hair, groaning. "This _has _to work."

ooOOoo

Tracey stared from the kitchen where she was cooking to Bucky where he sat in the living. She chewed her cheek, feeling the tension in the air. She placed the spoon in her hand and made her way to her boyfriend.

"Are you worried about what happened on the mission?" she ask as she sat down next to the super soldier.

Bucky continued to stare ahead of him, like he always did when something was on his mind and he was focused on it. His brow furrowed as he stared out the window. "I am."

"Do you want to talk about it?" the hacker asked, placing a hand on his arm. The metal felt cool against her hands, cooling down her fingers after standing over the steaming pot on the stove. She leaned her head up and kissed his jaw, resting her head against his shoulder. "I know you. You always feel better when we talk."

The dark haired man sighed, turning his head to his girlfriend. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, rubbing his thumb against her arm absentmindedly.

"I'm confused," he finally spoke.

"About how he lost his memory?" the blonde woman questioned.

"Yeah…" He ran a hand through his hair. "I want to know how he lost his memory. How can one man who broke into a bank by busting a hole in the wall and fighting the three of us not remember anything? How can he forget all of that?"

"I'm not sure…" Tracey responded, taking his other hand in hers. "We've all seen plenty of strange things before. Let's not forget Tony's experiment that stained Steve's skin purple for a week."

Bucky chuckled. "Yeah I remember that." He looked down at their hands and began playing with Tracey's fingers. "I just don't get it…"

Tracey stared up at him as he continued to stare at their hands. She chewed her cheek. "There's something else bothering you, isn't there?"

Bucky sighed, nodding his head. "It's the fact that he was able to keep up with me. Sure I've face plenty of guys who could keep up with Steve and I during missions. But those guys were no match for this guy. The thought of this O'Neil guy being another super soldier is worrying. How did he get that way? What happened to him? Where did he go while he was missing?"

"I wish I could answer those questions," Tracey said, staring at their hands too. She laced her fingers with Bucky's after letting him fiddle with her fingers some more. "But that's why we have everyone. We're all curious as to what happened. We're all searching for answers. We'll find them. We always do."

Bucky turned his head to stare at Tracey. A fond smile formed on his lips as he looked at his girl. "You might not have exact answers to the questions, but you always have an answer."

"Well I have to help you guys out somehow," she laughed. "What would you guys do without me?"

"Mm, I'm not sure," he laughed, kissing her cheek. "We'd be running around with no way of getting information."

"Exactly," she said, leaning into him. She kissed his cheek before standing up. "I've got to finish dinner before it burns."

Bucky squeezed her shoulders in a quick hug before releasing her. "Thanks, doll."

"Anytime, Sergeant," she said, giving him a wink as she walked back to the stove.

She smiled over at Bucky as he turned the TV on, distracting himself from the latest mission. Stirring the contents in the pot quickly, she turned to behind her and grabbed her laptop. Pulling up the files from today's meeting she brought up the files on Grayson O'Neil. Her eyes scanned across the screen, flicking from one document to an image and so forth. As she moved from an image to another one, she did a double take. She looked back at the previous video, the security footage of Grayson O'Neil from the bank today, and narrowed her eyes. She paused the video and double clicked the image, enlarging it. It was an image of him with his back to the camera as he stood in the vault. She stared at the back of his head, squinting as she stared at the fuzzy image. She moved her hands across the keyboard, hitting a few keys, and quickly enhanced the photo. As the image cleared up, the hacker furrowed her brow as she stared at the man. She tilted her head as she caught sight of something on him.

"Hey, Bucky," she called out. "Can you come here?" she said after she heard the super soldier hum in reply.

"What's up, darling?" he asked, walking up next to her.

"You said you ad Nat saw something fly off of the guy when the cops got him, right?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"Yeah." His brow furrowed. "Trace, what did you find?" he asked, looking at her computer screen.

"Did it look anything like this?" she asked, pointing to Grayson O'Neil's neck.

Bucky leaned forward, examining the picture. His brow furrowed before his eyes widened slightly. On the back of the man's neck was what looked to be a bug. More importantly a robotic bug. The legs of the bug seemed to be dug into the back of his neck, as if holding on for dear life. The skin around the bug seemed to have veins bulging out; they were bright blue.

"What the hell is that?" the super soldier said, more to himself than to Tracey.

"Do you think that has anything to do with his memory loss or even his super soldier qualities?" the blonde woman asked.

Bucky stood up straight and grabbed her laptop. He ignored Tracey's shout of complaint as he headed towards the elevator.

"Bucky!" Tracey shouted as she quickly shut the stove off. She rushed over to the super soldier, glaring at him as she reached the elevator with him. "Where are you going?"

"We need to show this to everyone," he said, his voice conveying a firm tone. His face showed a serious and determined look as he got onto the elevator. "Jarvis, call everyone to the meeting room."

"Right away, Sergeant Barnes," came the AI's voice.

"Give me that," Tracey grumbled as she took her laptop from his hands. "You could say something before you storm off with my things," she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

It didn't work. Bucky stared at the metal doors with his arms folded across his chest as he waited for the elevator to stop. Tracey chewed her cheek as she stared up at her boyfriend. His mind was set on the matter at hand like he always was when it came to a mission.

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter two! I hope you like it! Sorry it's not as long as the first chapter, but I tried my best. I got stuck with what else to write. I'm also going to be stuck on chapter three so that chapter will take a while to write out. I'm doing my best to get these chapters up for you, but I can't guarantee quick updates like I did with Winter is Ending. This one has more plot to it that I am still figuring out compared to the first story. So I hope you can bear with me. **

**If you'd like to Ask the Avengers, Madison twins, or anyone else in the tower a question, feel free to leave a message on my tumblr. If you have a prompt for Life at the Tower, feel free to leave a message on my tumblr, PM me here, or leave it in a review.**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorite, and followed! I'm glad you like it so far. This one I'm really excited and nervous about writing because I have ideas that I want to write out, but I'm also nervous that it won't be as good as Winter is Ending. I'd appreciate any critiques and helpful tips if anyone has any **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Tony stared at the images in front of him. His face was set in a firm look as he folded his arms across his chest. He moved his hand over a picture and swiped it to the left, bringing a new image to the front of the stack. Tracey stood next to him, staring at the image as well. She shifted another image towards herself. She chewed her cheek, squinting her eyes. She zoomed in on it. It was the same photo she had pulled up earlier, the one with Grayson O'Neil and the bug on his neck.

She turned to Tony. "Is this any technology you've seen?"

"No," the billionaire said, his brow furrowing.

"What about possible rivals to Stark Industries?"

"Justin Hammer is still in jail, so he's out of the list. Not like he could make something like this without stealing the idea from someone," he said, grumbling the last part.

The hacker rolled her eyes. "But it is a possibility that it's a rival to Stark Industries."

"It could, but usually if someone is trying to outdo me, they'd say it to my face and try to show off," he said, swiping another image.

Tracey chewed her cheek, fixing her glasses on her nose. She held her arms up and zoomed in on the picture. "This bug is so strange," she said. "I know I don't know a lot about mechanics and what not, but I know from seeing all of your Iron Man suits that you have a certain style to it. Like the plating and wiring. This bug has its own style as well. Do you recognize it?"

Tony shook his head. "No, sorry, Mona Lisa. This is something I haven't seen before. It looks like we're dealing with someone new."

"Well that just leaves more questions," Tracey frowned. She pulled up another file, another video from the bank security footage. She watched as O'Neil fought with Bucky and Natasha. His strength screamed super soldier, but it was how he got that way that confused Tracey. She paused the video and stared at the bug once more. Just as she saw earlier, the legs of the bug were dug into the man's neck. And then there were the veins. "Tony, what if someone tried to recreate the super soldier serum? Look at the veins on his neck. That's not normal and they show up where the legs connect to his skin. It has to be injecting him with something to make him that strong and completely forget everything after it leaves."

"You have a point…" Tony said, rubbing his chin. "This is all weird. The only people we know who are willing to recreate that serum are Hydra. They're the only logical suspect, unless we're overlooking someone."

"True…" Tracey said. She groaned and removed her glasses, rubbing her eyes. "This is ridiculous. The last person they made into a super soldier was Bucky. They wiped his memories and brain washed him into a weapon. I've already erased all the files on the Winter Soldier so they couldn't do the same thing to someone else. There's no way they could have memorized the formula for the serum."

"Don't forget that they were able to hack into your system and take the file on Project Insight back," the billionaire pointed out.

"Yeah, but I was able to get it back. No one's tried to break into my systems since then," she said, placing her glasses back on her face. "I would also know if they hacked into my computer. I've updated it since. No one's getting through."

"And that's why we love you, Picassa," Tony said, placing an arm around the blonde's shoulders and giving her a side hug. "You're more advanced than anyone I know. Second to me of course."

"Second to you?" the blonde woman said, raising a brow. "Who was the one who hacked into your system five minutes into walking into your home?"

Tony glared at her before grumbling, "Still can't believe a graduate hacked into my files…"

"And don't forget it," she laughed. She turned back to the holograms in front of them. She shook her head. "There has to be a way to figure out who's doing this…"

Tony pursed his lips before looking at the time in the corner of his screen. He patted the hacker's shoulder and gently pushed her to the door. "You need some rest, Tracey," he said. "You've been at this since you woke up basically. Do you realize you've been here for more than twelve hours now? It's midnight already."

"I'm fine," she said, swatting at his hand. "I can go a day without sleep."

"Yeah, then that day will turn into three," he teased.

"Says the guy who has been working on something 'top secret' down here for the past few days," she said, air quoting "top secret".

"I've actually been working on this for about a month now, before all this happened," he said proudly. "And why are we bringing the conversation to me?"

"I thought you liked it when we talked about you?" she laughed.

The scientist rolled his eyes and pushed her through the door. "Funny. Just get some sleep."

"What about you?"

"I have something to do."

"Is it that 'top secret' thing you've been working on?" she asked, raising a brow and air quoting "top secret" once more.

Tony pushed her hands down making her grin. "Will you stop doing that? And it's not your business what I do down in my lab."

Tracey rolled her eyes. "You know Bruce would be more than willing to help with whatever project you're working on," she pointed out.

"I know, but this is something I need to work on myself," Tony replied. "Now good night, Tracey."

The blonde rolled her eyes and turned to head to the elevator. "Whatever. Good night, Tony," she said, waving a hand over her shoulder.

ooOOoo

"No. No. No!" the man yelled. He watched as the vitals for the test subject slowly dropped. He slammed his fists onto the table and snapped his head up to where a man laid on a metal table.

Straps were holding his down as he shook about, preventing his arms and legs from flailing. After a few more minutes of this the man went still. The man in the white lab coat stared at the vitals as they finally dropped. He slammed a fist down onto the table and groaned.

"Damn it!"

He went over to the body and undid all the straps. Flipping the dead man onto his stomach, the scientist stared at the metal bug on the back of his neck. His brow furrowed as he watched the bug release its grasp on the man's neck. Once all the legs were released it fell onto the side of the table, laying on its back and legs spread out. The scientist snatched it up and went over to a different table where a bunch of tools laid about. He began tinkering with the robot, glaring down at the mechanics of it. Opening up the bug's back he extracted a small vial. Inside it looked to be a greenish liquid. Or what was left of it. He placed the vial onto a rack and stared at it, clasping his hands together as he leaned his mouth against it in thought.

He groaned as he sat up. "Joseph!" he called out.

A couple minutes later the doors flew open and the uniformed man ran in. "Yes, sir?" he asked, standing at attention.

"The test subject was a failure. I need another person," the scientist said, standing up and pacing. The uniformed man glanced over at the table and stared at the dead man lying on it. Joseph turned his attention back to his boss in front of him as he caught him glaring. The man in the lab coat continued, still continuing his pacing. "I need someone whose body can handle the serum," he stated. "I need you to find me more test subjects."

"Yes, sir," Joseph said, nodding his head. He turned and quickly ran out of the room.

The scientist went back to his table and pulled a bunch of bottles with different colored liquids in them to him. He sifted through them before grabbing two. He poured the contents into a larger bottle and began mixing.

"I need this to work…" he grumbled as he stared at the mixture.

ooOOoo

Bucky laughed as he walked off the elevator. He turned to Steve, who was grinning, and shook his head. "You're full of it. I had you and you know it."

"That's not what Sharon said," the blond soldier laughed. He placed an arm around the blonde woman next to him, who had a smirk on her face.

"Sorry, Bucky. He had you beat in the last round," Sharon said, laughing when the metal armed soldier rolled his eyes.

"You got lucky, punk," he laughed.

"Jerk," Steve grinned. "Maybe tomorrow you'll be able to beat me."

"Whatever you say. I'll see you guys later," Bucky said, waving as he turned to leave.

Entering his and Tracey's room he found the hacker sprawled out on the bed dead asleep. He chuckled as he made his way over to the bed. Pulling the covers over her and placing a kiss on her head before going into the bathroom. Ten minutes later he was showered after the gym and in a pair of sweat pants. He climbed into bed and pulled his girlfriend to him. He kissed her temple and chuckled when Tracey swatted an arm at him.

"Go away," she mumbled, burying her face in her pillow.

"Sorry, doll," he laughed, "you're kind of stuck with me. You chose to date me."

"Unfortunately," she said, turning around so she was facing him.

Bucky smiled down at her as she stared up at him with sleep filled eyes. "You look tired."

"No duh Sherlock," she said, laying her forehead against his chest.

The super soldier laughed at his girlfriend's lack of cursing. It was cute how she avoided it at all costs, but would swear up a storm if she was really mad. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back. "I haven't seen you all day. Where have you been?"

"Down in the lab with Tony. I've been going over the files from the bank robbery all day," she answered, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Bucky nodded. "Right." He looked down at her and ran a hand through her hair. "How was that? Anything new?"

"Nothing that we don't already know. Tony thinks that it could have been Hydra," she said, looking up at her boyfriend. She chewed her cheek before continuing. "They are the only ones who created another super soldier…" she said slowly. She searched Bucky's face for a reaction.

Bucky's face hardened slightly, nodding his head in understanding. "Me. Right…" he said. His face furrowed in puzzlement. "But you erased all the files from the Winter Soldier project. There weren't any other files with the super soldier serum in them. And if there were I know you would have locked them away from anyone else to see, but us."

Tracey nodded. "Right, but Hydra's the only logical explanation. As of now at least."

The super soldier pursed his lips, staring at Tracey as his mind wandered. It's true that Hydra was the only logical suspect, but they couldn't just jump to conclusions. Anyone smart enough could recreate the serum. There were plenty of people who were geniuses. There was Stark, Justin Hammer, scientists from Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. But who else did they know that could have the brains and the equipment to recreate the serum?

Tracey chewed her cheek as she noticed Bucky's gaze glaze over in thought. She ran a hand through his hair as he continued to think and placed a kiss on his cheek. "You need to stop worrying about it so much right now, Sergeant," she spoke up. "Just sleep. I've already be forced to stop working and come up here to sleep," she joked.

Bucky chuckled and pulled her closer to him, burying his face in her neck. "You're right," he said, his voice muffled against her skin. "But I'm just worried. I don't want anyone else to go through what I went through if it is Hydra."

"I know, sweetie," Tracey said, running her fingers through his hair. "But right now all we can do is look into it and get enough rest while we can. Everything is going to be okay."

Bucky smiled against her neck. "Thanks, doll," he said, kissing her neck.

The hacker giggled and squirmed in his arms. "You need to shave," she said.

Bucky grinned at her. "You're always ticklish there, I don't need to shave," he defended, kissing her neck again.

"No," she giggled. "I'm ticklish on my neck when you have stubble on your face," she said. She squirmed again as he continued to kiss her. "Stop!" she squealed.

Bucky lifted his head and stared at her, smiling lightly. He ran a hand against her cheek and kissed her lips. "I love you," he said.

"I love you too," she replied, running her hand through his hair again.

She stared thoughtfully at his brown locks as she played with them. Bucky closed his eyes as she continued to play with his hair, taking a deep breath in content. It was silent for a few more minutes until Tracey spoke up again.

"You know what I miss?"

"Hmm?" the metal armed man hummed, keeping his eyes closed as he rested his head against her chest.

"Braiding your hair," she stated simply.

Bucky burst out laughing as soon as she said that. He pulled her closer and shook his head. "Really? That's what you miss?"

"Yeah, it was fun," she said, grinning up at him. She grabbed two small sections of his hair and tugged lightly at them. "I can't work with this!" she laughed.

"Sorry, doll, you're going to have to deal with that. I'm never growing my hair out again," he said, grinning as his girl pouted at him. "You can still braid Thor's hair. He likes that. Natasha does it to him all the time when she's bored."

"Fine," she said, sticking her tongue out at him. "At least he'll appreciate it."

Bucky chuckled and kissed her. "Good night, darling," he said, closing his eyes.

"Good night, Sergeant," Tracey whispered, kissing his cheek. "I promise everything will be okay."

"I believe you," he whispered.

He opened an eye and watched as Tracey slowly fell asleep. He frowned as he stared at her. He believed her. He always did. But right now, he was also worried something was going to happen soon. They needed to figure out what was going on and fast.

**So here's chapter three! I'm again sorry this isn't as long as my chapters from Winter is Ending. I'm doing my best to match the word count from that, but I'm a bit short. Sorry. I'm also doing my best to get this story written. Right now I have ideas, but I'm worried that I won't be able to follow through with the story. I think once I reach the bigger parts of the story I'll be able to get chapters out faster. I'm also still studying my butt off for Econ for the rest of the semester so I'll do my best to continue updating this story and Life at the Tower so I hope you guys can stay with me until my winter break. **

**If you have any questions for the Avengers, Madison twins, and anyone else in the tower, feel free to leave a message on my tumblr. If you have any prompts for Life at the Tower that you'd like to see me write you can send them to my tumblr, PM me here, or leave them in a review. I accept any and all prompts! **

**My tumblr is winter-is-ending**

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorite, and followed my stories! You guys make my day every time I get an email! Thank you! You guys are amazing!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tracey chewed her cheek and pushed her glasses a bit further up her nose as she grabbed another section of hair. She was currently in the living room on the top floor of the tower sitting on the floor. Her legs were crossed and in front of her was Thor. He had a big smile on his face as the hacker played with his hair. There were a few ribbons and clips in his hair that she had found in a junk drawer from her bedroom. The god of thunder found it amusing that she was putting the hair accessories in his hair. He was also pleased that he could make his friend happy by letting her braid his hair. It also helped out with keeping his hair out of his face. It was a win-win situation!

"We braiding Thor's hair then?" Natasha asked as she walked up to the pair. A smirk was on her face as she examined the number of braids and ribbons. "Looking good, touch guy."

"Thank you, Natasha!" Thor said, smiling brightly. "Tracey had told me she was bored and asked if she could braid my hair. Care to join?"

"You know me too well, Thor," Tasha laughed. She sat down next to Tracey, who had scooted over making room for the spy, and grabbed a few pieces of hair. "So, Trace, anything new on the robo bug case?" she asked the hacker as she began braiding the blond man's hair.

"Nothing new so far. Although," Tracey said, pausing as she stared off into space. Natasha looked at her expectantly, waiting patiently for her teammate to continue. Tracey chewed her cheek, nodding. "There are two men missing now. One was reported two days ago. The other was reported last week just after Grayson O'Neil's bank robbery."

"Do you think it has to do with the case? You did say that the first man was missing as well," Thor put in.

"He's got a point," Nat said, putting a clip in the god's hair. "Who were they this time?"

Tracey frowned, chewing her cheek. "The first man's name is Ryan Carter. He's an accountant. The second is Clark Mars. He's a journalist for a small magazine. They have wives and kids…"

Reading up on the new missing men was hard on the blonde woman. Just hearing that a missing man has a family worrying about him broke her heart. Images of her and Barry playing with their dad as kids and him and their mom smiling and laughing together flashed through her mind. She knew what those families were going through. Just the agonizing pain of wondering where their husband and dad were gnawing at them was one of the most painful things to have. Wondering if they were alright and if they would come back home safe killed.

"Tracey?"

The blonde woman looked up to see Natasha staring at her. She gave the red head a small smile, trying to divert the attention from her. One of the few things she hated was having unwanted attention on her. But it was Natasha. She could see through everyone's walls.

"I know what you're thinking," the spy said. She placed a hand on her friend's hand. "Wherever those men are and whatever happened to them isn't your fault. It's the person who's causing all this mess." She gave the hacker a hard look as she squeezed her hand. She could already guess what else the blonde woman was thinking. "What happened to your dad isn't your fault either. He wouldn't want you to be sad about him all the time. You're strong. I know you know he wouldn't want you to be like this. You're strong, Tracey. Don't worry."

Tracey nodded, smiling lightly at her. "Thanks…"

Natasha opened her mouth to say something but the two females and god turned their heads around when they heard someone behind them.

"You're braiding Thor's hair?" Bucky asked, cocking a brow at them. "Bored I take it?"

"Yep," Natasha said, popping the P as she went back to braiding.

"Hey you told me to braid Thor's hair. So don't come complaining to me," Tracey teased, sticking her tongue out at him.

"Not all of us can have hair for braiding, Bucky," Thor said, grinning at the soldier mockingly.

Bucky laughed, shaking his head. "Touché." He turned to Natasha and Tracey and raised a brow at them again. He watched as Tracey turned back to the blond Avenger in front of her and fixed her glasses on her nose. He smirked and sat on the couch behind her so she was sitting between his legs. He reached down and ran his fingers through her hair before taking a few sections of it. He flipped and turned the pieces over one after the other, being careful that her hair didn't get caught in his metal hand's plates.

Tracey tried to turn her head to look at him, quirking a brow in question, when he grabbed her hair. But Bucky gently moved her head to keep it facing straight as he made work of her hair. Eventually Tracey's eyes fluttered shut as he played with her hair. A smile was on her face as she leaned back against his legs. She snuggled herself between his knees and shins before she finally sat still as Bucky continued his work.

Natasha chuckled as she watched the two. Thor smiled at them, but was quickly made to look forward as Natasha continued her work with his hair. She turned to the couple next to her, a smile on her face.

"Since when can you braid hair?" she asked the dark haired man.

The super soldier laughed lightly, running his hand through his girlfriend's hair as he grabbed another section on the other side of her head. "I did have a little sister growing up. I had to learn a few girly things just so I could play with Rebecca whenever my mom was too busy."

Natasha laughed. "Well that's good. You can carry those skills over if you have a little girl."

The assassin smirked when she saw Bucky's eyes widen and his face grow red. The hacker in front of him cried out when he stumbled over the pieces of hair in his hand and yanked on them. He quickly apologized, but his face was still covered in shock. The red haired woman grinned as she watched the super soldier collect himself.

"Right," Bucky said, clearing his throat when his voice cracked.

Tracey giggled lightly at her boyfriend's reaction, but gave a small glare at the female Avenger, who only continued to grin. "What about your end of the search, Bucky?" she asked, turning her head to the soldier. Hopefully this would direct the subject away to a less awkward one.

"Nothing so far," he answered, finishing the second braid. He grabbed the first one and a clip, connecting the two together in the back. "Steve and I have looked in every possible area, but we haven't found the men. Barry, Sam, and Clint haven't found anything either."

"Hmm…" Tracey hummed, chewing her cheek again.

"Well that's not helpful," Natasha said bluntly. She stood up, patting Thor on the shoulder, letting him know she was done. She walked over to the arm chair next to the couch and plopped down in it. "The guy doing this must be farther away than we thought or he's good at playing hide and seek."

"More like hide and never be found," Bucky grumbled.

"Don't worry," Tracey said, looking up at Natasha and patting Bucky's knee. "We'll find them and the person causing all of this mess. The Avengers have never failed before. And even if they have, they always pull through in the end," she said, a warm smile on her face.

"You make an excellent point, Tracey," Thor said with a big smile.

"It's a good thing you're a part of the team, Trace," Natasha said, smiling at the other female. "We could definitely use your pep talks whenever something goes wrong."

"That's what I'm here for," the blonde woman said with a wink. She giggled when she felt Bucky kiss the top of her head.

"Natasha," Thor said, looking at the red head as he tugged on a ribbon. "Do you mind if I take the ribbons and clips out?"

"Not at all," Nat laughed. "I wasn't expecting you to keep them in all day."

Thor smiled at the woman before he began undoing the bows and clips. The room was quiet again as the four went about their own things after the conversation died down. Natasha was currently flipping through a magazine from the coffee table while Thor was undoing a few of the many braids in his hair, and Bucky finished off the last braid in Tracey's hair. The hacker was now resting her head against the super soldier's knees as he had grabbed today's newspaper off the coffee table as well. It was quiet and peaceful. But like life with the Avengers, nothing peaceful lasted for long. Especially when Sam came bolting from the elevator.

"Where's Bruce?" he exclaimed, looking from one Avenger in the living room to the other. He looked frantic.

"He's down in the lab with Tony," Thor answered. "What's wrong, Sam?"

"It's Barry."

Tracey froze as she was staring at the dark skinned Avenger. Her eyes widened and her heart skipped a beat as it fell to her stomach. She didn't even feel Bucky's hand on her shoulder or hear the other three sitting around her calling her name. Her eyes were on Sam as she opened and closed her mouth. It finally fell open, staying like that as she continued to stare.

"Wh-where's Barry?" she whispered.

"He was attacked by another super soldier," Sam explained hurriedly.

The hacker's breathing became shaky as she listened to Sam. "Wh-where is Barry?" she repeated.

"Trace," Bucky said, squeezing her shoulder.

She ignored him. She couldn't even hear him or anyone else, but Sam. "Sam, where is Barry?"

"He's here," Clint said as he came off the elevator, practically carrying said Madison twin on his shoulders.

Tracey jumped up and ran to her brother, taking his other arm and putting it over her shoulders as she helped Clint carry him to the couch. The hacker looked down at her brother once he was comfortably laid down. His breathing was regular, but he looked unconscious and blood and bruises covered his face. Tracey quickly went to the kitchen where she wet a rag. Coming back to Barry she brushed his hair from his forehead before she gently washed the blood off his face.

"Did he take the soldier on by himself?" Natasha asked, staring incredulously at the new Avenger.

"Sounds like something Barry would do," Tracey murmured as she continued to treat her twin's wounds. "JARVIS, can you contact Bruce to come up here?"

"Already done, Miss Madison. Doctor Banner is on his way now," the AI announced.

"Thank you, JARVIS," Bucky said as he sat down next to his girlfriend. He placed a hand on her back. "He's fine, Tracey. He's alive," he soothed.

"I know…" she said quietly. She turned to Sam and Clint, who looked equally beaten up, but nowhere near as bad as Barry. _They must have gotten out before anything really bad happened, _she thought. She wiped some blood from her brother's forehead before turning back to the archer and flyer. "What happened to the super soldier?"

"He was arrested. Acted the same way Tony, Tasha, and Bucky described the first guy," Clint said, dropping his bow and quiver on the floor. He walked over to an arm chair and flopped down on it, resting his head on the back. "He didn't remember anything. Might as well have been a high schooler after summer vacation."

"Ha ha," Natasha said, rolling her eyes as she sat down on the arm of the chair. "Which guy was it?" she asked, running her hand through her boyfriend's hair.

"I think it was Clark Mars," Sam said, taking a seat in the other arm chair.

Bucky's brow furrowed as he came back to Tracey with a new rag. "If he forgot everything that should mean the bug is off his neck," he stated.

"It is," Barry spoke out in a strained voice.

"Barry!" Tracey exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her brother's neck. "Sorry," she said, backing off when he cried out in pain.

The male twin looked at the rest of the Avengers with his usual grin. "I got it," he said, holding out his hand to show a black metal bug resting in him palm.

"What? How did you- When did you-" Clint stuttered, staring at the ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. "Dude, when did you get that?"

"During the fight," Barry answered, wincing as he slowly sat up. "I saw it while I was avoiding a blow from him. That guy has a mean left hook!" he exclaimed, rubbing his head as Tracey took the bug from his outstretched hand.

She turned it over and over in her hands. It was as big as her index finger in length and a little wider than her thumb in width. It wasn't that big! Her brow furrowed as she examined the intricate design of the metal pieces and how they connected with each other. She was no expert on machinery and robotics, but after seeing Tony's and Justin Hammer's designs for the Iron Man suits she could spot differences in designs. This design for instance was completely different making hers and Tony's predictions correct. It was someone they've never dealt with before.

"This thing makes those men into super soldiers?" she mused out loud. "It's so tiny though."

"We have seen just as strange things in our time as a team," Thor said, staring down at the bug as well.

"Thor's got a point," Natasha said, crossing her arms and leaning back against the back of the chair. "But what we need to do is figure out who's making these bugs."

"Tasha's right," Clint said, getting up and heading to the kitchen. He came back and handed Barry and ice pack. "You're gonna need to give that to Tony to look at," he said to Tracey, pointing to the bug in her hand. "He's the robo expert."

"Right," Tracey said, standing up. She placed a hand on Barry's knee. "Do you need me to get anything from your room?"

"If you could grab my DS that would be swell," the male twin grinned.

Tracey rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised? Do I even need to ask?" she said, walking away and throwing her hands in the air as a small smile grew on her lips. She was grateful that her brother was doing just fine after his encounter with the super soldier.

ooOOoo

"Tony!" Tracey called out as she entered the lab. She looked around, her brow furrowing. She had passed Bruce on the way down to the lab and he had told her that Tony was working in the lab. But where in the lab was he working? She didn't see him anywhere.

Her head perked up and her eyes shifted to the far corner of the room. That was the corner where Tony had created a smaller room for more private experiments for him or Bruce to use if they didn't want anyone to see what they were doing. She rolled her eyes and made her way over. Getting closer she could make out the music to an AC DC song playing loudly as always. Just the way Tony liked to work.

She opened the door slightly and poked her head in. "Tony!" she yelled over the music.

The scientist Avenger jumped and quickly threw a sheet over whatever he was working on that was spread across the table in front of him. He shut the music off and glared at Tracey. "Jesus, Mona Lisa. Give a guy a warning. And you know you're not supposed to be back here," he said, folding his arms.

Tracey gave him a look and shook her head. "Sorry, but I think this is more important than what you're working on." She held out her hand, showing off the robo bug. This caught the billionaire's attention. "Barry somehow got it off the super soldier during an attack."

"Shit," Tony mumbled under his breath. He took the bug in his hand and pulled it closer to his face. "Yeah, this is something I've never seen before," he said, shaking his head as he turned the bug over in his hand. "This is a new design as well. This is someone we've never seen before…"

Tracey's brow furrowed as she looked at the scientist worried. "What do we do now? What can you do to figure out who the person is?"

Tony rubbed his chin in thought, nodding his head as he led Tracey out of the room and into the main area of the lab. "Well…I'm going to need you to look around. See if you can find anything on some scientist. Maybe you'll find some looney or another. For now I'm not sure. I'll tear this little guy apart and see what I can learn about the making of it." He set the bug down on his work table among his multitude of tools and robotic parts. "How's Barry?"

The blonde hacker sighed. "Well he's a bit beaten. Actually a lot beaten up. But he's being his dorky self as usual so I don't think he's that hurt…or he's trying to hide how much pain he's in…" she said, running a hand through her hair. "He's Barry," she said with a small smile.

The billionaire nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just take a break and go see him, Tracey," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "Make sure he's actually okay."

Tracey smiled up at the man she and Barry had known for years. "Thanks, Tony," she said, giving him a quick hug. "Don't overwork yourself," she said as she headed towards the door.

"Look who's talking, Boris!" he laughed. He smiled as he watched her leave before turning back to his work table. He stared down at the robo bug and sighed. "Okay, let's see what you've got little guy."

**I am so so so so so SORRY! I can't believe it's taken me this long to update! Life has been hectic. First there was finals week so I had to take a break from writing, then there was the news about my grandma so that was hard on me, then I had work all throughout break. Not to mention I've been having major writers block for this. There's an idea I have forming for possibly the next chapter. But the thing is I need to catch up on a TV series to get the idea flowing. I have also been looking for inspiration to get back into writing. I got some now (obviously) but I need a bit more. I think if I just have a huge Marvel movie (and TV series, I need to catch up on Agents of SHIELD) I'll get a bit more of my muse back. **

**Again I'm sorry for the long wait. Life has gotten in the way and important things had come up. Thank you for the wait and I hope you like this chapter. Plus it's a longer chapter than the last three! Woo! Improvement!**

**If you'd like to ask the Avengers, Madison twins, and anyone else in the tower any questions, feel free to leave a message on my tumblr. If you have a prompt for Life at the Tower and Life at the Tower AUs, feel free to leave a message on my tumblr, PM me here, or leave it in a review. **

**Thank you guys for all the love, reviews, favorites, and follows! They mean the world to me and I'm still questioning why any of you are reading these stories. I honestly don't think I'm that great of a writer compared to so many others. But thank you guys so so much!**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"What do you mean you lost the bug!"

"I'm sorry, sir," Joseph said, standing tall as he tried to not run away from the enraged scientist.

The man in the lab coat was storming around the lab, throwing papers and the occasional glass beaker or test tube to the floor. This was the worst the henchman had ever seen his boss. Sure there were the moments where he got mad when something didn't go right with an experiment. But this? This was beyond those usual moments. This was him furious – and it wasn't the best thing to happen around the lab.

"How could you lose it?" the scientist yelled, turning to face his man. "How could you let the one important thing to further my plan get away? You had _one _job! And it was to make sure that bug didn't get away!"

"I know, sir, and I'm sorry," the man said, standing still as he waited for his boss to calm down. Which he knew wouldn't happen any time soon.

"Who?" he shouted, slamming a pile of papers onto his table. "Who has the bug?"

"I'm not sure who he was," the henchman explained. "He looked like a new member of the Avengers."

"The Avengers?" he shouted. In two strides he was in front of the other man, his hand wrapped tight around his throat. "My robot is in the hands of the one group who can thwart my plans?"

"I-I'm sorry, sir," the man gasped as he slowly lost air.

"Sorry isn't going to bring my robot back!" he hissed, his grip tightening. "Who is the Avenger?"

"He's a new one," Joseph gasped.

"A new Avenger? Which one? If you haven't noticed, they have a few new members!"

"I'm not sure who he is, bu-but I was able to get a picture of him," he coughed. He gasped as his boss suddenly let go of his throat.

"Give me the photo," he said, striding over to his table where the remaining robot bugs were spread out. He snatched the photo from the henchman's hand, not even bothering to look up at him. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the photo of the young man as he fought the super soldier. The man's eyes widened as he stared at him and he quickly went over to a filling cabinet where he pulled out a folder. As he rummaged through the new file he came upon another photo. Slowly a wicked smile grew on his lips. "Oh this is perfect…" He turned back to his henchman who continued to stand off to the side, eyes slightly wide as he waited for whatever punishment he believed he would receive. The scientist only smiled. "You're mess up has just helped furthered my plans. Fantastic job, Joseph."

"Uh…sir?" Joseph said, his face scrunching up in confusion. "I don't understand…"

"You will," the scientist grinned as he tossed the file onto the table towards his assistant.

Joseph stared down at the file and spotted a photo of a family of four. Underneath them were individual photos of each member. His eyes widened when he saw the Avenger in one. "Who are they sir?"

"The Madison twins," the scientist said. "I need you to track down her," he said, pointing to a picture of a young blonde woman. "We're going to need her if we want to continue with the plan."

ooOOoo

Tracey giggled as she and Bucky watched Steve stare at the keypad next to the lab doors. The super soldier's lips were pursed as he stared. He punched in some numbers only to get a buzz signaling it was incorrect. Looking through the glass window next to the door she could see Bruce walking over to one of the many tables carrying a tablet in hand. The scientist caught her eyes and shifted them over to the blonde super soldier, who was now glaring at the keypad, and the metal armed super soldier, who was laughing at his best friend. Bruce raised a brow at Tracey as he had an amused smile on his face that matched the blonde woman's, only smaller. He raised a hand, pointing to the door as in asking if he wanted to let them in. Tracey shook her head, holding back a laugh as Steve cursed at the keypad. She rolled her eyes and punched in the numbers for him.

"What the hell," the super soldier exclaimed. "When did they change the code?"

"Tony did and it was a couple days ago," the hacker announced as the doors whooshed open. "I think it had something to do with him and that 'super-secret' experiment of his," she said, using air quotes with a laugh.

"Ah," Bucky said, a small smirk on his face as Steve rolled his eyes. "Of course he did. What is he doing anyways?"

"Not sure. He still won't tell anyone. Not even Bruce." She looked up at Bruce. "Anything yet?" Tracey asked as she and Steve walked into the lab. She looked at the scientist as he looked up from his work that sat on his table.

The curly haired scientist pursed his lips as he turned his head to look towards the other end of the lab where Black Sabbath was playing loudly. He turned back to the blonde hacker and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, Trace, I'm not sure. We looked at it earlier today, but Tony's been working on his own experiment all day. I'm not sure if he's even looked at the bug yet."

"That's bullshit!" Tony exclaimed as he stormed out of his little room. "I have looked at the bug and have been working on my project. I've been going back and forth, but," he said, stopping in front of the two. He pointed a finger at the scientist and the hacker. "I'm still trying to figure out who the tech belongs to. I can say that yes, it is a copy of the super soldier formula, but it's been altered."

"Altered?" Steve said, brow furrowing. "What do you mean altered?"

"I mean it's not the same formula they used on you, Captain Grandpa," Tony said, ignoring the eye roll from the super soldier. "The chemical formula has been enhanced. Well attempted to be enhanced. We already know the side effects of what happens after it's out of the soldier's systems."

"They forget what after they were injected with it," Tracey stated, nodding her head slowly. "But what do you mean it's been _attempted_ to be enhanced?"

"Bruce and I had looked at the formula from the bug and compared it to the formula from the forties when they put it in Cap," Tony explained.

"And?" Steve urged, raising a brow in question as he crossed his arms.

"There's a few minor tweaks here and there, other than that it's the same thing, but I'm not sure why whoever is doing this changed it," Bruce answered.

"The original formula was fine the way it is, this guy clearly wants to play God and wants to improve it somehow and most likely make an army of super soldiers," Tony added, looking at the tablet Bruce had. "His problem is he's failing at improving it. He's making it worse – which we can see alone by the memory loss of his guinea pigs."

"Yeah, but you have to think about it," Tracey said, folding her arms across her chest as she leaned back on one leg. "I mean, sure the guys don't remember anything while they are under the influence of the formula, but they are _still _super soldiers. His plan of making them into super soldiers is working and we have to consider that the memory loss might be intentional."

"Tracey's got a point," Bucky nodded. "For all we know this guy made sure that the men he is experimenting on don't remember anything so nothing is traced back to him."

"Yeah, well he did a shitty job since Barry was able to steal the bug off his Capsicle and Bucksicle wannabe," the billionaire scoffed. "And I highly doubt that that was intentional."

"Probably not," Bruce said with a small laugh. "His mess up is our advantage."

Steve placed his hands on his hips as he stared at the bug before turning to the rest of his team. "We also can't procrastinate this. We need to figure out who is making these bugs."

"So you didn't find who the design belongs to?" Tracey asked, looking to Tony.

He shook his head. "Nothing. And it's still nothing I've seen before. As we've said repeatedly: this is a new threat."

"New or not, it still means we can't make light of this," the super soldier stated. "We need to expect anything from this guy. He'll most likely either come after us for the bug or just send out more soldiers." He looked to Tracey. "Is there any way you can trace the bug to the original owner?"

Tracey chewed her cheek as she stared at the bug Tony had placed onto the table next to the other Science Bro. She pursed her lips and sighed. "I can try," she said, shaking her head, "but I'm not experienced in the field of robotics and I'm not sure if it will have some piece to it that can allow me to track its origins."

"Don't sweat it, Picassa," Tony said, slinging an arm over her shoulders. "That's why you have me." He grinned at her, giving her arms a squeeze before letting her go.

Tracey laughed, smiling up at the older man. "Gee thanks, Tony. I can always count on you. I'm sure I'll be able to understand every word you say to me."

"Which is why I'll be giving you a full on seminar," the billionaire grinned.

"Great," Tracey said, elongating the word as she rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Have fun with that," Steve laughed, patting the hacker's shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir," JARVIS spoke out.

Tony groaned. "If it's another meeting, tell Pepper I can't make it. We're busy working on this case," the scientist billionaire said with an eye roll.

"We have some people wishing to land on the landing strip on top of the tower," the AI announced.

"Who are they? If it's a client I don't get why they didn't arrive at the airport," Tony said making a face.

"They aren't clients, sir," JARVIS said. "And I think you will want to meet them."

"What the… Who the hell is landing on my tower?" Tony asked, storming to the elevator.

The remaining four looked at each other with puzzled expressions before making their way to the elevators. The ride up was silent except for the few questions of who the people could be. They made their way up to the loading dock where the quinjet was parked. The group spotted a new jet parked right next to it and stared questioningly as the bay to it opened up.

"Mr. Stark," came a voice as a figure walked down. "Long time no see."

Tony's whole being froze as he stared at the person in front of him. His eyes were wide and his mouth might as well have hit the floor. "Holy shit…"

ooOOoo

**And here's chapter five! Sorry I don't really have a lot to say in this author's note, but I hope you liked the chapter. I'd love to hear what you guys think so far because I've been hesitant about this story since day one. I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts and comments on it so far!**

**Again sorry for a short chapter. I'm trying my best to make them just as long as Winter is Ending chapters, but I liked how this one ended up when I finished. However, I was able to add a bit more in the second half of this chapter. Anyways, I hope you liked it!**

**If you'd like to ask the Avengers, Madison twins, and anyone else in the tower any questions, feel free to leave a message on my tumblr. If you have any prompts you'd like to see me write for my oneshot series Life at the Tower, leave a message on my tumblr, PM me here, or leave it in a review. **

**You can find me on tumblr at winter-is-ending**

**I'm still worried about how well this story is going and I'd really appreciate reviews. Whether it's helpful criticism or comments about your favorite part I'd really love to hear what you guys think. I'm really nervous about this story so I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts. Thank you.**

**Thank you for all of your support! I still am questioning why you people keep on reading because – I'm not kidding – I've never seen myself as a great writer. But I guess it's good because I'm thinking about changing my minor to Journalism to go with my major. So again thank you all for the support!**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Tony spluttered over his words as he tried to figure out what to say. He couldn't speak. He tried putting words together in his head, but they all failed. He looked at everyone else and saw the similar situation with Steve and Bruce. Tracey had a somewhat surprised and confused look on her face as if she wasn't entirely certain who the man in front of them was. Then there was Bucky. He just looked confused. The billionaire turned back to the man and opened his mouth. He closed it. Open. Close. Open. Close. It continued like that and he glared as the man had an amused smile on his face.

"You're supposed to be dead!" he yelled, finally finding his voice. "What the hell Coulson!"

Coulson smirked and tried to cover his chuckles up. "Yeah, that's one took a while to figure out for me as well."

"How are you alive, Coulson?" Steve asked, just as flabbergasted as the two scientists next to him. "Loki stabbed you."

"He did, but long story short, S.H.I.E.L.D. had a project they wanted to test. It was a success," the agent said with a shrug and a small smile.

"I can't believe this…" Bruce said, still staring at the agent. "So you've been with S.H.I.E.L.D. this whole time?"

"Yes, I've been laying low so those who knew me as dead wouldn't know I was actually alive," he answered.

"Like us…" Tony said, a glare set on his face.

"Calm, Tony," Steve warned. He turned back to Phil. "So what are you doing now that S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone?"

A smile grew on the man's face as he nodded his head with a chuckle. "I'm actually rebuilding it. You're looking at the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"No shit!" Tony said with a laugh. "Actually I don't think Nick would have trusted anyone else, but you."

"Congrats," Bruce said with a smile.

"So, you are Coulson?" Tracey spoke up.

Phil turned to her and smiled, extending his hand. "That's right. Phil Coulson. Nice to meet you Miss Madison."

"Barry?" Tracey asked, a smirk on her face as she shook his hand.

"Yeah, he talked a lot about you back when he was still an agent with S.H.I.E.L.D. He spoke very fondly of you. But we also knew about you before he spoke of you."

Tracey blinked, taken aback by the comment. "What?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s had tabs on you since we first heard of your abilities. Basically when you moved to New York and hacked into Tony's database," he said, his eyes flickering to the billionaire as the amused smile graced his features again.

"Of course," the scientist mumbled.

Tracey grinned at the bearded man before turning back to Coulson. "Well glad to know that I'm noticed by such a big organization." She paused and raised a brow. "It wasn't because I was seen as an enemy was it?" she asked, a grin on her face. "Because let's face it. I'm far from threatening."

"She has a point," Tony called out, laughing.

Coulson chuckled. "No, we kept watch on you to make sure that no one got a hold of you and in case we ever needed someone with your skills. I actually have someone on my team who you would get along with pretty well. You'll meet her and the rest of the team later. They're currently getting things organized on the bus," he said, nodding his head to the jet behind him. He turned to Bucky and a large smile was on his face as he extended his hand. "Sergeant Barnes. It's an honor to meet you."

Bucky chuckled at the enthusiasm from the man and took his hand, shaking it. "Uh, thank you. It's an honor to meet you as well. Steve and the rest have told me a lot about you and what you did during the New York attack."

"I was really just a sidelines guy," Phil said with a chuckle. "Nothing much."

"Oh come on, Coulson!" Tony said, patting the man's back. "You did so much more than what you're giving yourself credit for."

"Thanks, Tony," Phil said, a genuine smile on his face. The smile fell a minute later, his face growing somber. "But I'm here because of important business. Based on what I've heard has been happening here I had to come and see for myself," he stated. "My team and I can help."

"How so?" Steve asked, raising a brow.

"I'll explain. Why don't we get inside and you can call in the rest of the Avengers. My team will follow shortly," Coulson said.

"Right this way, Director," Tony said, a smirk on his face as he led the new S.H.I.E.L.D. director to the elevator.

"What was the Sergeant Barnes thing about?" Bucky whispered to Steve.

Steve chuckled, grinning. "Phil's a Captain America fan. A big one. He was pretty excited to meet me before the Chitauri attack."

"Really?" Bucky grinned, laughing as he and the rest followed the billionaire and director to the elevator. "Well how 'bout that. Did you ask you to sign anything?"

"He asked me to sign trading cards," Steve said, smiling at the memory.

"There are trading cards of you? No way!" Bucky said, a large smile on his face. "I need to talk to Coulson about those."

"I'm going to regret mentioning those," Steve mumbled, running a hand through his hair.

ooOOoo

"I cannot believe we are in _the_ Avengers' tower!" Jemma exclaimed, a large smile on her face as she turned around where she stood, gazing at everything around her in the room. "Oh this is a dream come true." She gasped. "I wonder what the labs look like!"

Trip chuckled as he walked into the room with the rest of the team. "Calm down, girl. One step at a time. We still need to meet the Avengers."

"I gotta say, this is a lot cooler than it looks on the outside," Skye commented as her eyes roamed the room.

"I'll admit," Lance said, nodding his head as he too looked around the room. "This is probably one of the nicest places I have seen."

"This is nothing compared to my place in Malibu," Tony spoke out as he walked onto the floor with the rest of the Avengers. "Tony Stark, but you probably already know that," the billionaire said as he held out his hand.

"Lance Harper, pleasure to meet the man in the suit," the agent said, shaking his hand as he smiled at him. "And you built all this?"

"Designed, built. You got it," Tony said, a proud smirk forming on his lips.

"Please, don't get his ego going," Tracey said, rolling her eyes, trying her best to conceal her smile. She stepped forward, holding out her hand just as Tony had done. "Hi, I'm Tracey Madison."

"Oh!" Jemma exclaimed, a bright smile growing on her face. "You're Barry's twin sister! It's so wonderful to finally meet you. Barry told me so much about you. I'm Jemma Simmons."

Tracey turned around, giving her brother a knowing look as he stepped forward. "Who have you not told about me?"

"What?" Barry grinned. "I can't praise my twin?" He smiled at Jemma and pulled her into a hug. "Jemma! It's great to see you again!"

"Barry! It's not the same without you at S.H.I.E.L.D.," the scientist stated, smiling up at the ex-agent.

"Fitz!" Barry exclaimed, pulling the other scientist into a hug. "How have you been?"

"I-I've been good um it's um…" Fitz said, snapping his fingers he looked for the word. "Strange. It's been strange not having you pulling pranks on everyone around um…um…headquarters."

Barry blinked at the stammer from his friend, unused to it, but he kept a smile on his face either way. "I bet. I remember you tried pulling a few pranks on me. Have you tried on anyone else?"

"I tried on some of them once," Fitz said with a small chuckle.

The rest of the team and the Avengers greeted each other, one after the other. Friends reunited after a couple years of being away, in cases such as Clint, Natasha, Sharon, and Barry with the new S.H.I.E.L.D. director and two scientists. Then there were those who were meeting for the first time. Such as Tony, Bruce, Steve, and the rest of the Avengers meeting Coulson's team. Thor was rather enthusiastic at reuniting with Coulson, grabbing him a large hug and smiling brightly. And Tracey and Skye were hitting it off right away, talking about their experiences with missions and being the ones called upon for computer assistance. Then there was the interesting meeting with Steve, Bucky, and Trip.

"It's an honor to meet you both," Trip said, smiling genuinely at the two super soldiers. "My grandpa told me all about you two," he said as he shook their hands.

"Your grandpa?" Steve said, raising a brow.

Bucky snapped his fingers, a large smile spreading across his face. "I _knew _you looked familiar! You're Gabe Jones' grandson aren't you?"

"The one and only," Trip beamed.

"Really?" Steve said, a smile growing. "Well it's an honor to meet Gabe's grandson. I'm glad to have you on the team for the mission, which is what I'm assuming is why you're here."

Trip smiled, shaking his head a little. "Yeah, but that's Coulson's job to explain."

"Wait _you're _here?" Clint's voice sounded throughout the room.

Everyone turned to see him staring at a blonde woman who was walking off the elevator with a dark haired woman at her side. A smirk was on the blonde's face as she walked up to the archer. She placed her hands on her hips as she continued to smirk at the aghast Avenger.

"Good to see you too, Clint," the woman said. "Hey, Natasha!" she greeted, turning her attention from the archer to the red haired woman next to him. "Long time no see!"

"Nice to see you again, Bobbi," Nat greeted, smiling at the woman and smirking at her partner next to her as he was still in a shocked state. "Close your mouth, Clint. The fish look is definitely not for you."

"You two know each other?" Skye asked, raising a brow.

"Clint and I had dated for a while back, before he was an Avenger of course," the blonde woman, Bobbi, said.

"Wait you dated _the _Hawkeye?" Lance exclaimed, pointing from Clint then to Bobbi.

"Small world. I'm also sensing a little jealousy from Lance," Mack whispered to Fitz, who let out a short chuckle in response.

"I forgot you two were together for a while," Natasha said, grinning at Clint as he held his head in one of his hands, shaking it.

"And knowing you two you'll spend time talking about me," the archer sighed, looking from one woman to the next.

Bobbi looked between the two assassins, a large smile growing on her face. "Are you two together now?" she asked, pointing from one to the other. "Yes! I knew it." She turned to the dark haired woman next to her. "You owe me twenty bucks, May."

The dark haired woman let out a single laugh, a small smile on her face for a few seconds. "I swore it was going to be him and that girl from labs."

"You made a bet to see who I would end up with? Seriously?" Clint nearly yelled. "Good God!"

"Well this meet up is getting more and more interesting," Tracey said to Barry with a light laugh.

"Oh yeah," Barry laughed. "This is getting better and better. I didn't know about Clint and Bobbi though. You learn something new every day."

"I'm learning secrets about Hunger Games," Tony grinned, rubbing his hands together as he watched the two women and archer talk. "I'm going to learn every secret on him from Blondie."

"You're going to have to wait a while, Mr. Stark," Coulson spoke up, bringing everyone's attention to him. "I'm glad to see everyone's getting along, but we are here because of what you guys have been dealing with this past few weeks."

"Alright," Tony said, raising a brow. "Tell us what you know, Fanboy."

Coulson rolled his eyes. "Fanboy, really? I think you can come up with better nicknames than that."

"Oh!" Barry laughed, his mouth in a wide smile. "Man! I missed you Coulson!"

Coulson smiled, chuckling lightly. "Alright, everyone better find a seat."

**So here's chapter 6! I'm actually happy that I was able to come out with this a lot faster than last time with chapter 5. Sorry if this is a bit shorter. **

**I kept getting reviews saying "I bet its Coulson, but my head says no" or something along those lines. I kept giggling and smiling when I read them. I can't wait to read the reactions from you guys to this chapter. Next chapter will have an explanation as to why the team from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is here. **

**Again sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter than the last. I'm having a really hard time coming up with what to write next for each chapter. That's why I saved the explanation for next chapter. I'm not entirely sure how long this story will be, most likely a lot shorter than Winter is Ending. Also each chapter might not be as long as the chapters from Winter. Those ranged from about 2500-3000 words. These are starting to range from 1500-2500. I'm sorry if they are going to shorter, but I'm having a harder time writing this story and I want to get it done by a certain time. Reasons being for that will be revealed in the last chapter of this story, which I have written out and finished. Now I just have to write the rest of the story. I have a lot of ideas, but the problem is writing them out. I hope you can bear with me. **

**If you have any questions for the Avengers, Madison twins, and anyone else in the tower, feel free to leave me a message on my tumblr. Also feel free to leave me a message if you'd like to just say hi or ask any questions about future chapters for this story and any possible future stories. If you have any prompts you'd like to see me write for Life at the Tower and Life at the Tower AUs, feel free to leave me a message on my tumblr, PM me here, or leave it in a review. **

**Also I'm thinking of starting MCU imagines. I've seen so many of those on tumblr and I wanted to try my hand at them. So feel free to leave a submission or message on my tumblr!**

**My tumblr is winter-is-ending**

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows! They make my day and I smile every time I read the reviews. I was rereading them today and I couldn't stop smiling. So thank you guys so much! You guys are amazing people!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The two teams found space around the living room, soon filling every possible couch and chair. Some like May, Trip, and Steve preferred to stand. The two groups had little time to get to know each other before the meeting, but knew that they would get more time later to talk. It was silent as all eyes were on the man in the middle.

"Spill it, Coulson," Clint spoke out from his spot on the arm of an arm chair he was sharing with Natasha.

"We've heard of reports attacks here. All being men with incredible strength. Super soldier qualities," Coulson said, looking around at all the Avengers. "It caught our attention. We have out assumptions as to what's going on, but we wanted to hear what your team has found out before we can come to any conclusions."

"What do you want to know? The weird stuff about the case?" Bruce asked, raising a brow. "Because when is anything not weird with us?" he said, a small smile on his face.

Trip chuckled, a smile gracing his features. "That's too true."

Coulson smiled as well, nodding his head. "Like Bruce said, I'd like to know what the weird things about the case are. Anything out of the ordinary."

"Well, the three men who were causing the attacks," Tracey began, chewing her cheek as she thought over the attacks and all the files on the men, "they were ordinary people. They have families and normal jobs. The least likely to subject themselves to experimentation to become super soldiers. Let alone cause this sort of harm."

"There were also the bugs," Barry spoke out.

Coulson's team all looked at each other. Some had their brows furrowed; others had surprised looks on their faces. Then there was Coulson nodding his head, his mouth in a firm line.

"What bugs?" Jemma asked, looking at Barry.

"The first attack Natasha and Bucky had noticed something fly off of the man's neck," the male Madison twin explained. "They didn't catch a good look at it, until Tracey looked at the security footage from the bank's vault that he broke into."

"And it was a bug?" Mack asked, looking to Tracey.

"The footage was blurry so I wasn't positive," the hacker answered. "But at a closer look it definitely had a bug like appearance. It was robotic."

"Bruce and I tried to examine the picture, but we couldn't get a lot of information out of it," Tony put in, gesturing to the other scientist as he spoke. "That is until Thing Two here nabbed one off the third guy's neck."

"And that explains why you look like you got run over by a train," Skye commented, nodding her head as she looked at the remaining bruises on Barry.

"Yeah, not my best move," Barry chuckled. "Never try to fight a super soldier."

"We know," May said.

"You know?" Steve asked, raising a brow.

"Back when this team first started out a few of us had encountered a similar situation," Coulson said. "Some people were creating these bugs that had extremis that was injected into the men they were attached to."

"Extremis? You're kidding right?" Tony nearly yelled, brow furrowed into a glare. "I took care of that. Who got a hold of it?"

"A group called Project Centipede," the new director answered. "Fitz, Simmons?" he said, nodding to the male and female scientists signaling them to stand up.

Jemma held up a tablet and pressed a few keys on the screen. A holographic image of a robotic centipede on a person's arm appeared in front of her. "As Coulson said, we had encountered a similar situation with Project Centipede."

"They took the um…um…" Fitz said, snapping his fingers as he tried to speak.

"Extremis," Jemma said softly.

"Yes, extremis formula," the male scientist said, not even acknowledging his partner, "and used it to create super soldier formulas."

"We had stopped them, but I guess someone took their design and recreated the formula," Jemma said, looking around at the Avengers.

Tony studied the image of the robotic bug, hand under his chin. "That's not the same but as ours."

"What?" Skye said, eyebrows raised. "You serious?"

"Positive," Tony said as he got up from his seat and walked up to the hologram. He nodded to Tracey, who pulled a tablet out of her pocket and turned it on. An image of the Avengers' robot bug appeared.

"See here," she said, pointing from one bug to the next. "Ours isn't a centipede. It's a lot smaller than yours." She moved her hands and the image enlarged. She turned to the centipede and did the same. "And there's a few more differences in ours."

"When Bruce and I examined the one Barry got us we were able to examine the formula it was using to make its super soldiers," the billionaire said. He tapped a few keys on Tracey's tablet charts and equations appeared. "Now this is the extremis formula," he said, pointing to the first equation. He pointed to the second equation. "Then this one? This is the actual super soldier serum that was used on Cap back in the forties. That's the one that was in our bug."

"You're kidding," May said, raising a brow as she stared at the formulas. "The actual super soldier serum? How could someone get their hands on that?"

"Most likely someone from Hydra," Bucky spoke out, face set in a stern expression as he, like everyone else, looked at the images that were floating in front of the two men and two women.

"He's got a point," Steve said. "Hydra is the only possible people who could have gotten their hands on the super soldier serum formula. They were the ones who infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. Who knows what else they got their hands on?"

"But Tracey recovered all the S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra files," Natasha pointed out. "Now unless someone decided to go old fashion and wrote it down, I don't see how this one man who's causing all this got his hands on the formula."

"That's also a good point," Coulson said, pursing his lips.

"But what if it's Project Centipede again?" Bobbi asked, folding her arms.

"Definitely not them," Tony said. He pulled the two images of the bugs closer together. "The designs on these two robo bugs are completely different. Even if they got someone different to recreate them, it's like you said: they're gone. But Hydra isn't."

"True," Lance said, rubbing a hand under his chin. "But if you're able to tell the difference and a robotic expert like yourself, then you can tell us who the person is that's making this buggers."

"That," Tony said, raising a finger, "is sadly information we don't have, London Bridge." He smirked when he saw Lance roll his eyes, a smirk on his face as well, at the nickname.

"We've been trying to find out who the man is based on the design of the robots," Bruce continued. "Nothing on our databases have come up with a match."

"They don't even look like designs of anyone who's competed against Stark Industries," Tony added. "So you can see why we are stuck."

"Barry, you said that you were able to um…" Fitz said, snapping his fingers again. "Extract the bug from the man's neck during the fight?"

"Yeah, why?" Barry said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Really?" Jemma said, blinking as she stared at the ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

"When we dealt with Project Centipede, the robots that were attached to the men, they couldn't come off," the male scientist explained.

"Seriously?" Sam asked, eyebrows raised. "Well then we definitely have someone new if he's able to come up with a design that's able to actually detach from the victims."

Coulson pursed his lips and looked to May, the two sharing a look before he turned his gave back to in front of him. It was silent as the director stared at the ground as he thought things over with the given information. After a few more minutes he broke the silence when he cleared his throat and scanned his eyes at the group in front of him.

"The best we can do is continue searching. My team and I can help," Coulson said, looking at Tony and Steve, "if you allow us that is."

"We can use all the help we can get. Your team has dealt with a similar situation before so we can use the firsthand experience," Steve said, smiling at Coulson.

"It's good to have you back, Phil," Tony said, clapping a hand on the man's back.

"What happened to my first name beign Agent?" Coulson asked with a smirk.

"Eh," the billionaire said, holding his hand up and rocking it side to side. "It goes back and forth."

Coulson chuckled, shaking his head as a smile grew on his face. He had to admit, he missed Tony's personality. He turned his attention back to the two teams as they all stared at him and the two Avengers, waiting for any orders that they might give.

"So for now," Coulson spoke up, "we only have this much information." He gestured to the holograms that were still hovering in the air. "What we need to do is find the man causing all this and see what his game is. What he's planning. Fitz, Simmons," he said, addressing his two scientists. "You two can help Tony and Bruce down in the labs and figure out if you can find a way to trace the bugs back to the original maker."

A large smile broke out on Jemma's face. She quickly turned to Fitz, nearly bouncing in her seat. "Fitz, we get to work with _the _Tony Stark and Bruce Banner!" she nearly squealed, making the entire group chuckle. A smirk grew on Tony's face at the excitement the female scientist was emanating.

"Uh yeah…I'm excited," Fitz said, smiling up at the two scientist Avengers. He didn't notice how Jemma's face fell when he didn't bother looking at her.

"Tracey," Steve spoke up, looking at the blonde woman. "You and Skye look through any and all security and news footage you can find on these three attacks. Try to find anything you can on them. If something seems out of the ordinary or we missed something, let us know."

"Sounds good," Skye said, smiling at the blonde. "I'm just glad I finally have someone who speaks computer."

"Same," Tracey laughed as she sat down with the brunette. "Two geniuses like us, we'll find what we need."

Coulson chuckled as the two females smiled at each other before he turned to the rest of the two teams. "The rest of you, be on the lookout for anything suspicious on the streets. We need to stay alert. We don't know when or where the next attack will be."

"When you go out, report back as soon as you find something," Steve informed. "Do you understand?"

The rest of the large group all chimed in their own agreements and understandings towards the leaders. All were itching to get a move on with the case and end the madness once and for all. Then there were some like Jemma, who wanted to explore the tower, mostly the labs. She was animatedly talking to the so called Science Bros as others were conversing with the new faces they met today.

"I am so glad that this meeting was shorter than usual. Whenever they have these sort of meetings I usually just tune out and stick to my computer until I'm called on," Tracey said as she and Skye kept to their seats on the couch.

Skye laughed. "Sounds like high school."

"Exactly," Tracey laughed. She smiled as Jemma sat down next them.

"This is so exciting!" the female scientist cheered. "Well, the part where we get to work with the Avengers, not the super soldiers destroying the city part."

"It's nothing too special," Tracey joked, rolling her eyes good naturedly. "After living with these guys for nearly a year, you get tired of some things."

"But I mean you're living with the Avengers. And then there's Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Clint Barton, and Br-" Jemma froze, her eyes flickering from the multiple male Avengers she had been listing off to the two females next to her who were smirking. "I'm sorry, I was um just…" She cleared her throat as her cheeks turned pink.

"Trust me, the glow of living with these guys wears down after a while," the blonde hacker laughed.

"What do you guys even do when you're not working?" Skye asked, crossing her legs as she leaned back in her seat.

Tracey chewed her cheek as she thought that question over. "Well, we usually just sit around the tower or just go walk around the city, which if we have time I'll take you to the best places to eat and shop," she said with a smirk. "I can get a hold of Tony's credit cards. With a little help from his girlfriend."

"Nice!" the other hacker laughed.

"But, like I said, if we have time. Right now I think we should start looking around those security and news footage Coulson asked us to look at," Tracey said, standing up. "Come on, I'll show you around the tower."

"This is so exciting!" Jemma squealed as she and Skye followed the blonde woman out of the floor.

ooOOoo

"Sir," Joseph said as he followed his boss through the base. "I don't understand. What does this one single – not to mention least threatening – girl have to do with the plan?"

The scientist remained quiet as he entered a room and pulled up a chair. Seating himself down onto it, he began turning on some computers and typing away at the keyboard. Different files with different images, blue prints, and formulas appeared one by one all over the screen. His eyes were set in a hard stare as he scanned each and every one of them as quickly as he could. It was silent until he swiveled around in his chair to stare at his henchman.

He glared up at the man standing behind him before he finally spoke. "Because she has skills that will help me get the files I need from that worthless organization we know as Hydra. Now unless you want to wind up like the last man I had help me with these projects, I suggest you find her and bring her to me."

"Yes, sir. Right away," Joseph said, his face turning dark at the memory of the last man who worked with him for their boss. The sight wasn't pretty, especially with all the blood on the wall.

"Then go! Now!"

Joseph nodded one last time before he rushed out the door, leaving his boss to his work with the files.

**Hey everyone! So the Avengers and Coulson's team are now working together! Woo! And now we know why they showed up at the tower. I had the idea of some guy copying the Project Centipede bugs for a while and really wanted to bring in Coulson and his team. I've finally caught up with the show and love it so far! But I'm so mad with how it ended! For those of you who haven't caught up I won't spoil anything. But for those of you who have, feel free to PM me and talk/rant about your likes and dislikes of the show. I'd love to hear your thoughts. And if anyone caught in the last chapter, I had Bobbi and Clint have a thing at some point. After I looked up who Bobbi was in the comics I was super excited to have those two interact! **

**Also I'm not entirely sure when the action will start. Maybe next chapter, but probably nothing too big. I haven't decided yet. **

**If you'd like to ask the Avengers, Madison twins, and anyone else in the tower any questions, feel free to leave them on my tumblr. If you have any prompts for my oneshot series Life at the Tower, feel free to leave a message on my tumblr, PM me here, or leave them in a review. **

**One last thing. I would love love LOVE to hear your thoughts on this story so far. I'm kinda nervous with how its going so far. Am I going to fast with the plot? Am I doing a good job at portraying the characters? Because that's one of my biggest concerns. Please let me know in a review or a PM, whichever you prefer. I'd love to hear your thoughts! **

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews, follows, and favorites! They make my day!**


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